Daily Search Forum Recap: November 25, 2008

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

Is Microsoft Live Search Being Rebranded?
Rumor has it -- as reported on Search Engine Land and Liveside -- that Microsoft is rebranding its search under the name kumo.com. According to the reports, kumo.com is owned by Microsoft and points to search.live.com nameservers. It also provides Microsoft employees with an internal site. Whether or not it's true is only speculation at this point. However, sentiment is pretty heavily expressed against Microsoft taking this approach. Forum discussion continues at WebmasterWorld.

Google AdSense Applications Getting Stricter?
WebmasterWorld members are reporting that Google is being stricter in accepting new publishers for Google AdSense. Your site must adhere to specific guidelines to be included. Rejection reasons include not owning the TLD of the site you are applying for Google AdSense, an active domain (6+ months of age), including personal information that is accurate, and applying from a website with original content. Good news? Absolutely. Nobody wants to see AdSense on domains that have

Google AdWords Location Targeting Tips
At the new Google Groups, even more wholesome good tips are being offered, this time from users to users. Today's subject is on Location Targeting. Using Location Targeting, advertisers can take advantage of their audience based on the location they are searching from. Two tips are being offered: One suggests that you take advantage of IP-based targeting. Google is able to figure out where users are searching from by looking at the users' IP addresses.

Google Sync For BlackBerry Failing Big Time For Some
Less than a week ago, Google announced that Google Sync is now available for BlackBerry users. BlackBerry users rejoiced to join the family of phones supported for syncing up contacts, calendars and so on, on their BlackBerries. Other phone devices supported in the past include Android, iPhone, Motorola, Nokia phone, Nokia S60 phone, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and Windows Mobile. But since the day they released in, many BlackBerry users find themself not able to get

Are People Really Using Cuil?
The Cuil search engine has been around for a few months, and now that the momentum has died, we've taken the liberty to look at the usage statistics to see how it is faring. At High Rankings Forum, most individuals forgot about it (and even forgot how to spell it). Some think it's a dead fish in the water; Jill Whalen, however, suggests that Cuil will relaunch eventually once they address the issues that were

Minor Reports of Google Search November Update
I have seen two smallish thread, relative to a normal Google update thread, that discusses changes in the Google search results. A WebmasterWorld thread and DigitalPoint Forums thread has discussion around some changes being noticed in Google. Now, typically these threads are much larger. So I was a bit hesitant to post this information. In fact, I would not be surprised if this was just a quick blurb that went away. This does come soon

The Most Irritating Google Maps for Mobile Oversight
There are bugs and there are oversights that can be a pain in the neck for users. But I think this oversight in the Google Maps for Mobile client that runs on LG Incite by AT&T tops them all. Benjamin Stephens documented the issue on a video, you have to watch this: It is almost comical. Googler, Tom thanked Benjamin for such a descriptive bug report in Google Groups. He said he "forwarded this to

When Did Link Building Companies Become "Black Hat" SEOs?
I've been in the "SEO industry" for a long time, relative to the industry. Over time, the industry and the perception both externally and internally, has changed. I guess that happens with all industries, but quicker in more evolving and newer industries, like SEO. A few years back, I doubt many people would consider "link building companies" as being on the side of "black hat" techniques. So when has that shift been declared? Jim's WeBuildPages